Nerstrand City Hall is a historic

city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

building in

Nerstrand, Minnesota Nerstrand is a city in Rice County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 294 at th2018 census Minnesota State Highway 246 serves as a main route in the community. Minnesota State Highways 56 and 60 are nearby. History In 1856, ...

, United States, constructed in 1908. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

(NRHP) on April 6, 1982, for having local significance in the theme of politics/government. It was nominated for being representative of Nerstrand's early growth, and for being Rice County's best example of municipal buildings of the early 20th century.

Structure

Nerstrand City Hall is a two-story red brick building located in the small community of Nerstrand. Located on the south side of Main Street, it is the most architecturally distinctive building in the community. Designed by the

St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

firm of Thori, Alban, & Fisher, it was constructed in 1908. It features a symmetrical facade and is capped by a wood

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

with

modillion A modillion is an ornate bracket, more horizontal in shape and less imposing than a corbel. They are often seen underneath a cornice which it helps to support. Modillions are more elaborate than dentils (literally translated as small teeth). All ...

blocks and a central bell tower. The central

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

features a double doorway framed by brick

pilaster In classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...

strips and dentillated wood

. The main door is flanked by large two part windows with stone sills and headers. A large stone bearing the words "CITY HALL" separates the door from three rectilinear windows in the second story bay; these are flanked by small oval windows. The open bell tower shelters a bell and features a dentillated cornice and domed roof capped by a flagpole. Spherical

finial A finial (from '' la, finis'', end) or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a d ...

s flank the bell tower at the corners of the building.

History and significance

The city of Nerstrand traces its history to the 1870s, but the town was not

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bear ...

ted until the

Chicago Great Western Railway The Chicago Great Western Railway was a Class I railroad that linked Chicago, Minneapolis, Omaha, and Kansas City. It was founded by Alpheus Beede Stickney in 1885 as a regional line between St. Paul and the Iowa state line called the Minnesota a ...

reached the area in 1885. It incorporated in 1897. The area surrounding Nerstrand and Wheeling Township were formed from a close-knit

Norwegian American Norwegian Americans ( nb, Norskamerikanere, nn, Norskamerikanarar) are Americans with ancestral roots in Norway. Norwegian immigrants went to the United States primarily in the latter half of the 19th century and the first few decades of the ...

community.Thorstein Veblen Farmstead, House, Section 12, Wheeling Township, Nerstrand vicinity, Rice, MN
Library of Congress, Accessed December 13, 2010. The turn of the 20th century was a period of maturation for Rice County, characterized by various civic improvements, city halls, water systems, etc. Nerstrand's first city hall, built at the time of incorporation, proved too small within a few years. A lot was purchased for the new building in 1907 and it was finished the following year. The ground floor of Nerstrand's City Hall originally housed city offices, fire equipment and a

jail A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

; and a large community room occupies the second floor. A new

fire station __NOTOC__ A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equipment, fire h ...

was built adjacent to the structure in the 1980s. At the time the building was listed on the NRHP, it was being used as the

public library A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil service, civil servants. There are ...

. The building is significant for its association with Nerstrand's early growth as well as being one of Rice County's best examples of the

municipal building Municipal Building may refer to the following places: United States Arkansas *Crossett Municipal Building, Crossett, AR, List of RHPs in AR, listed on the NRHP in Arkansas *Municipal Building (El Dorado, Arkansas), El Dorado, AR, List of RHPs in A ...

s that were constructed in the first decades of the twentieth century. It reflects a period of increased civic-mindedness and prosperity.

References

External links

* {{National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota Buildings and structures in Rice County, Minnesota City and town halls in Minnesota Government buildings completed in 1908 City and town halls on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota National Register of Historic Places in Rice County, Minnesota 1908 establishments in Minnesota Omeyer & Thori buildings

Structure

History and significance

See also

References

External links